


Sneak

by kittybenzedrine



Series: Timelines [36]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Light Angst, Not Incest, Protective Father, Sneaking Out, can't believe i have to specify that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-10 11:53:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14736477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittybenzedrine/pseuds/kittybenzedrine
Summary: Rachel calls Leo for a ride home sometime in the middle of the night. Leo finds this very strange, because she should be at home, in bed. Being the good dad he is, he goes out to the middle of fucking nowhere to retrieve his step-daughter._____All pieces of the Timelines series are standalones and can be read without context.





	Sneak

Leo's woken by his phone buzzing on the nightstand, loud enough to be heard over both the A/C and the overhead fan. He sits up, rubbing at his blurry eyes as he reaches for the phone. Rachel's name is displayed over the too bright screen. Scowling, he gets out of bed and heads to the door so that he doesn't wake Renee, trying to wrestle a pair of boxers on all the while.

"Why are you calling me?" he asks the moment he answers, pacing out to the kitchen. He glares down the other hallway that leads to her room, expecting to hear the echo of her voice.

"Leo, I need you to come get me," Rachel tells him in a small, scared voice that sounds very much unlike herself. It makes a sudden wave of discomfort roll over him.

"Where are you?" he asks, heading to her room. 

She's quiet for a long moment, and he can hear the faint bumping bass of music in the background. He pops her bedroom door open and flicks on the light, only to be greeted with a messy room and a poor attempt at making it look like she's in bed.

"I went to that party."

Leo sucks in a deep breath, and lets it out slow to hold back the harsh flare of his temper. Both he and her mother both told her earlier in the evening that she wasn't allowed to go, and she'd thrown a massive fit over it. Rachel's willingness to just slam her door and ignore them instead of arguing until she was blue in the face should have been an indicator that something was up, but he and Renee were just glad to not have to deal with the backtalk for once. He should have known. She never gives up so easy.

"Dad?" she asks in that tiny voice, and he grits his teeth. She never calls him 'dad' unless it's serious, it's just... She doesn't _do_ that.

"Send me the address. I need to put clothes on."

 

A half hour later, he's out in the middle of nowhere, pulling up to some cookie cutter farm house with cars parked all over the field and drunk teenagers everywhere. The vibrations of the music coming from the house are so strong that the windows in his car rattle. Leo rubs one eye with the back of his hand and reaches for his phone to alert her that he's here. 

He doesn't get the chance. He's just barely unlocked his screen when the passenger door comes open and Rachel gets in. She's quiet as she buckles in, and they start the drive back home in silence.

"Are you alright?" he asks after a few minutes, irritation evident in his tone.

"Yeah."

Without offering him anything else, she kicks her shoes off and tucks her feet up under her. He thinks about asking her of she'd like to stop for a drink, but frankly she reeks of alcohol and pot, and he's a little too angry to show her much more kindness. Probably going to have to get his seats cleaned just to get the reek of marijuana out of it. She'll need to shower tonight. He's not going to tell Renee about this, but he's also done covering Rachel's ass for the night. The rest is on her.

He watches her idly playing with her hands out of the corner of his eye. Ashamed of herself, probably, for having to out herself about sneaking out.

"Someone tried to roofie me."

He grits his teeth and grips the wheel so hard that the leather squeaks. Isn't that just every father's dream to hear? "Do I need to take you to the hospital?" he asks, keeping his voice level.

She shakes her head. "No. Kate knocked my drink out of my hand before I had more than a sip. I beat the shit out of him so hard my knuckles split." Rachel pauses for a moment. "I wanted to get out of there before he realized I was bluffing about still having the drink. With no solid proof of him trying to drug me and his face unrecognizable... I probably would have gotten arrested instead of him."

"Is this that same kid who wouldn't take no for an answer when homecoming came around?" Anthony Kaczka. He remembers the kid's name well. Harassed Rachel to go to the dance with him regardless of how many times she said no. Went as far as to try to publicly humiliate her into going, but it backfired on him. For his own sake, the kid better have kept his nose clean of this.

"Yeah. It was him."

Hm. Leo's paying that kid a visit soon. A very, very unpleasant visit that may or may not end up with the little shit wearing cement shoes in the ocean. No one treats his daughter like that. _No one_.

Leo stays quiet for a change, watching as a few police cars and paddy wagon head in the direction he just came from, their lights off. Good thing that he got there when he did. He would have been infinitely more pissed had he had to go pick her up from the police station. Fuck, they probably would have called Renee instead, and she wouldn't be nearly this pleasant with their daughter.

"Are you gonna tell Mom?"

"No."

He could just leave it there, but...

"Remember how I told you if you needed me in a situation like this, I would come get you with no questions asked? I intend to keep my word. I'd rather you be embarrassed about getting caught sneaking out than be in trouble and be too scared to call me." He turns onto their road, keeping his eyes ahead. "I won't tell her, but I'm not covering for you. It's up to you to lie your way out of this to your mom."

They're quiet the rest of the way there, and she heads for her bathroom as soon as the front door is open. Renee is still in bed, and Leo rejoins her after undressing.

 

 

"Bet you're glad you didn't go to that party last night," Ren say from the stove, buttering a fresh plate of pancakes before bringing it to the table. "A bunch of kids there got arrested for underage drinking and all that shit."

Rachel is oddly quiet, under eyes dark. Probably embarrassed that she wanted to go so bad and then it turned out so shitty, Ren thinks to herself. Leo sits in his normal seat at the table, sipping on his orange juice. He never has much of an appetite in the morning, but there are a few extra pancakes in case he decides he wants some. Their daughter takes a few pancakes with her bare hands, and Ren catches sight of her mangled knuckles.

"Holy shit Rachel, what the fuck did you do to your hands?"

Rachel shrugs, eyes on her plate. "Night terror. I woke up trying to come in the back door. I think I might have been trying to beat up a tree, because there was little bits of wood in my hands. It's all cleaned, don't worry about it."

Ren frowns. "No wonder you look like shit, kid. No offense, but I can tell you didn't sleep well." She pauses, glances at Leo who's spaced out and staring blankly at the kitchen sink. "I mean, I guess thank you for relocking the back door after having terrible nightmares?"

Again, Rachel shrugs. She shovels down her pancakes with a normal amount of vigor, at least. But Ren still doesn't like the way her knuckles look.

"I'm gonna go get my first-aid kit. Your hands need a little more attention."

Ren abandons her own half-made plate, heading down the hallway to her and Leo's bedroom. When the door click shut, Leo suddenly breaks out of his daze and looks at Rachel. He raises a brow.

"A tree? _Really_?"

Rolling her eyes, Rachel looks away. Her pale skin gives away the immediate blush that surfaces. "Shut up."

**Author's Note:**

> I'm always very appreciative of your comments and kudos, so don't be shy about leaving either of those!
> 
> I have [my blog](http://iwillpooponthefloor.tumblr.com) on tumblr, if you'd like to check that out.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
